


Stand Up for What You Believe In

by orphan_account



Category: How to Get Away with Murder
Genre: Alternate Universe, Backstory, Cute, First Meetings, Flashback, Fluff, M/M, One Shot, Protests, Vegetarians & Vegans, animal rights
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-10
Updated: 2016-04-10
Packaged: 2018-05-30 20:39:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,021
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6439615
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>They met at an Animal Rights rally.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Stand Up for What You Believe In

**Author's Note:**

> This is a flashback/backstory kind of thing where they look back on how they met, so I hope it isn't confusing when it switches back to 'present time' (about a five year leap forwards). 
> 
> Enjoy.

Rallies. Connor loved them. There was something about standing on an upturned box, yelling into a megaphone to a crowd of people that filled him with pride, as well as a small amount of importance, too. He had only taken on the role of president for his university’s Animal Rights Society after the former leader, Helen, had gone on her year abroad. Although Connor pretended to be sad, waving her off and wishing her luck in Argentina, he was more than happy to replace her. Helen was a nice girl, always willing to listen to the group’s ideas and questions, she never did anything proactive. They mainly sat around a table every week, discussing what they _would_ do instead of going out on the streets to show the world what they were really about.

Connor had managed to find more like-minded people to add to their society. He needed more people, though; seven people was not enough to make a big impact, especially when there was over four thousand people in the college. No one was going to listen to a small handful of undergrad students, but if he could get over thirty people, then people would _have_ to listen.

He’d managed to rope in Laurel, asking her in his sweetest voice to create flyers and leaflets to give out around campus. She whined for a bit, but soon gave in once Connor said he’d do her washing for the next month if she complied. The posters were printed out within the day, and placed around the grounds for the next. They were bold, eye-catching works of art, and Connor was happy with them. There wasn’t any way to ignore them, sad-looking animals adorned the paper, black block titles were written across the top. ‘Animal Rights March’ it read, ‘May 16th, 12:00PM - 4:00PM.’

“These are perfect,” Connor said, looking at the largest flyer on the notice board in the canteen. “There’s no way people can miss these! We should get a good turnout.” Laurel smiled, nodding enthusiastically. The rally was for anyone, it didn’t matter if they were students, professors or passersby. If they cared about animals, they were welcomed with open arms.

“You think people will show up this time, then?” Someone asked. Connor looked behind him, raising an eyebrow when he saw who spoke.

“Yes,” Connor replied, a confident smile on his lips. “You want to join us, Zack?”

Zack scoffed at the idea. “I’d rather eat shit than spend time with you tree-hugging hippies. No, I’m going to eat my nice, juicy steak and wear my leather jackets – uses animals for what they’re for: our convenience.”

Connor felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand up. He knew the other guy was only looking for a reaction, but he was revolting. Zack was a typical jock; exactly the people Connor hoped didn’t pass high school, never mind get into any form of higher education. He glared at Zack, taking in his grotesque animal-eating body. He could see the muscles under his too-tight shirt, a clear sign that he was eating too much protein, animal protein, at that – the worst kind: cancerous, fat-filled, environment damaging protein. Disgusting. Connor wished people saw that plant-protein sources were far better for their health, the animals, as well as the world. It was as if people didn’t care that their diet was one of the leading causes of climate change.

What would people say if they knew that facts? Connor didn’t know. Many people were already in enough denial as it was, claiming them eating animal products did nothing to harm the earth. All he could do was laugh at most of them and their ignorant views.

“I don’t see why you bother, Zack,” Connor said, breathing heavily to stop himself from shouting at the man or throwing himself at him. He didn’t know which would come first, if he was honest. “It’s clear you’d never give up meat even if your life was on the line. Which, oh, by the way, if you keep on eating it, it may be the death of you.” He gave Zack a cold smile, not breaking eye contact with him.

“Your vegan bullshit won’t win anyone over,” he said, smirking. “Where’s the proof? How does a lovely chunk of beef cause anything bad? Humans are _meant_ to eat meat; it’s only natural.” Connor rolled his eyes; he’d heard that argument countless times before. After the twentieth time, he gave up trying to convince die-hard meat-lovers that they were wrong; he had better things to focus his attention on, anyway.

“Go away, Zack,” Laurel said with a resigned sigh. She always had to be around the two of them when they were at each others’ throats, both trying to defend their side. It was utterly pointless, and they had better things to be doing. The rally was approaching, and she needed to get back to her room to check her emails – people tended to send her messages asking her about the finer details of the upcoming events. Sometimes, she felt like she was putting in more effort than Connor.

“Have fun shouting about things no one gives a shit about.” Zack turned away, smirking to himself, feeling proud that he managed to provoke Connor for the second time that week.

“I hate him,” Connor muttered to himself, picking up a box of leaflets. He walked into the courtyard, scanning around to see who he thought would be more likely to attend. There were a couple of groups of people sitting on the grass and along the wall, all in their own deep conversations. It was coming up to exam time, and many looked stressed, so he decided to avoid them, for both of their sakes.

“I know you do,” Laurel said, standing beside him, another box of flyers in her hand. “If you didn’t react, he would soon give up. You know, like people say to get five year olds to behave: ignore them, they go away. It’s simple, really.” She gave him a sympathetic look and placed her free hand on his shoulder, patting it gently. “Forget about him and focus all that negative energy on the march, alright?”

“Fine,” Connor said, giving her a grateful smile. He didn’t know what he’d do without his friends.

***

It was approaching six o’clock when Connor reached his dorm. No one else was in, giving him free rein of the house. He grabbed a handful of his CDs, looking through them as he walked towards the communal stereo system. It had been a while since he’d had the whole place to himself, it was a nice change. He liked his housemates, but sometimes they got loud – a very drunk, especially around the weekend. As much as Connor enjoyed drinking with them, he didn’t enjoyed cleaning up their vomit the following day.

He picked a random album, pushing the disk into the stereo and adjusting the volume to it wouldn’t cause any disturbances – his neighbours could be stuck-up about the level of sound at times. Once he was content with the volume, he went into his bedroom, putting his laptop under his arm and going back into the living room. He hummed along to the song, sitting down on one of the armchairs dotted around the room. Their house was nothing much, an average student flat, but it was theirs, mould and all.

Connor lifted the lid of his laptop, waiting for it to boot up. His laptop was old and seemed to take longer and longer to start up, but he didn’t have enough money to replace it. He’d asked his dad to get him a new one for his birthday, but his father had only laughed, saying that he was a big boy now and needed to buy himself his own things. Although Connor had complained at the time, he understood. He was nearly twenty-six, and needed to stop living off his parents, even if that did mean dealing with an ancient computer.

It took a while to load up the internet, but a small smile crept onto his lips when he saw fifteen new emails, all enquiring about the society or their events. Connor loved answering people, it made him happy to know what others were interested in it and his time wasn’t being put to waste for hours on end every week.

He scrolled through a couple of messages, skim reading through them and picking out the important parts. Most were asking for more information about the rally which the posters didn’t provide them with. Connor replied quickly, adding the parts they needed, or copying Laurel into the email if he couldn’t give them a satisfactory answer.

Connor answered emails until his first album ended, forcing him to get up from his comfortable position in the chair to put a new one it. Again, he picked on at random, putting it in the stereo and singing along to the first song. He went back to the messages giving everyone that was interested the location of the demonstration, along with what they should bring with them. Connor had worked hard to be able to supply cruelty-free food and other freebies, mainly to attracted people – university students seldom said no to the idea of a free meal.

It was a failsafe plan, and it worked every single time.

People asked him whether they needed to bring pitchforks and fire, making Connor laugh and shake his head at the absurd questions. He replied to them, saying they weren’t necessary, but some non-aggressive signs went a long way, and maybe some free things to give out – cakes, cookies and vegetarian candies always helped getting things along, specially to encourage those who were still sitting on the fence. Sometimes, that was all it took.

Connor closed his laptop when he heard the sound of the front door opening. Laughter filled the house, making it feel more lived in – more welcoming. He got up from the seat, for the second time, and turned off the music. No sooner had he done that, Wes entered the room, his arms linked with a girl Connor didn’t recognise.

“You’re home early,” Wes said instead of a convention greeting. “I thought you were at the protest.” Wes let go of the Mystery Girl’s arm and walked into the kitchen. Connor heard him opening some cupboard, rusting some plastic bags in search of something to eat.

“That’s on Sunday,” Connor reminded him. “Aren’t you coming?” He went to sit back down, this time on the old, orange sofa – the one every person in the flat agreed was the ugliest piece of furniture they’d ever seen, so they had to buy it to add to the living room.

“What is it?” the Mystery Girl asked, sitting in one of the free chairs. She looked at him with dark brown eyes, brushing some of her hair behind her ear.

“I’m the president of the Animal Rights Society, so it’s a march to raise awareness for them,” Connor answered, using his prepared line which he used on everyone. It made him seem organised and knowledgeable, everything people liked in a leader.

The girl looked reasonably impressed, raising an eyebrow. “Can anyone come?”

“Anyone at all. Well, as long as you love animals, of course.” He smiled at her, putting his feet up on the cushioned seat. “Are you interested? We could do with more people – the more the merrier.”

Connor heard Wes make an annoyed sound, but didn’t come out of the kitchen. Connor looked at the girl, still smiling at her – he hoped it didn’t make him look creepy; all he wanted was more people to join the cause.

“Sounds great,” she said, nodding happily. “Where is it?” She took out her phone from her pocket, unlocking it and opening the notes app, ready to take down the location.

“Do you know where the Earth Sciences building is?” The girl made an affirmative noise. “It’s outside there, on the grass. It started at midday, but you can get there early to set up, if you want.”

The girl typed something on her phone, smiling when she saved the date. “I’m imagining some kind of 1980s anti-nuclear weapons march down the street right now. How aggressive should my picket signs be?” she laughed.

“It’s nothing like that,” Connor reassured her. “It’ll be around thirty people, someone with a megaphone and some signs – no drugs, no police. Something friendly, and hopefully getting our point across. Who knows, maybe some people will sign up for the Animal Rights Society when we’re there.”

Wes walked into the living room, a bowl of cereal in his hand. He quickly looked between Connor and the girl, sighing when he guessed what was going on. “Is he trying to recruit you into saving the world one bug at a time?” he asked, sitting on the arm of the chair the girl was sat on.

“I’d never do such a thing!” Connor asked, pretending to be scandalised at the assumption. “Me and...” he trailed off, not knowing the name of the girl before him.

“Zoe,” she said quickly, supplying Connor with her name.

“Zoe and I were talking about it. I don’t think forcing people to sign up to things is the way to go about it. It didn’t work in the Second World War, and it won’t work here.”

“It worked pretty well in the war,” Wes said between spoonfuls of cereal, trying to conceal a smile.

“But how many conscientious objectors were there?” No one replied. “Too many! That’s how many,” Connor said, giggling.

Zoe poked Wes’ leg. “Shut up,” she said. “I want to join – it’ll be fun, right?”

“ _So_ fun,” Connor said, clapping his hands together in excitement. This was the first big event he’d organised before, and there was a lot of pressure on him. He needed to prove himself, in a way. Being the new president meant he had to show that he was worthy of the position, no one wanted a leader who slacked with these things. “I have work to do, but I’ll see you on Sunday?”

“Definitely. I’ll see if I can drag a couple more people along with me. If they’re not too hungover to walk, obviously.” The three of them laughed, and Connor bid them farewell, getting up from the sofa and headed into his room.

He had a lot to do before the weekend.

***

Sunday came too quickly, but Laurel was his guiding light between the endless amount of papers, boards and posters. She had always been organised, even when they were in their first year, she was on top of everything – even work which had yet been set for them. That was what Connor liked about her, she was calm in the face of the worst stress – and the effect was passed on to him, if he stayed near her for long enough.

“You’re a lifesaver,” he said as Laurel came up to him and polystyrene cups under hair arm. “I totally forgot about these.”

“What would you do without me?” she asked, putting them down the plastic table. They’d managed to get hot water from the kitchen staff, and they found some cheap herbal teas and fair-trade coffee. Things were working out well, Connor thought to himself as he took the cups out of their plastic. He lined them up along the back of the table, putting tea bags in half of them, ground coffee beans in the other.

“Cry,” he said as he lifted the container of hot water onto the end of the surface, in easy access for his fellow demonstrators. “Hey, have you asked more people to come and help? I’ve asked Zoe to come,” he called out to Laurel. “She should be here around now, actually.”

Laurel, who was now on the furthest side of the grass, looked up and nodded in his direction. Connor was sure he saw her lips move, but didn’t hear what she said. He smiled and gave her a goofy double thumbs up, indicating that he’d at least see she had, before going back to arrange the other refreshments along the tables.

It wasn’t long until he heard a small group of people approaching them. They were talking among themselves, all laughing and joking as they went. There were only four of them, but Connor didn’t lose hope, there was still a good hour and a half before anyone was told to get to the Earth Sciences building, so these people were here to help. Or, that’s what he hoped when he turned to see the banners they had to stick up somewhere.

“Hey,” Connor shouted, catching the attention of the group. They stopped talking, peering over towards him. He waved them over, beckoning them to come closer. If they were here to assist them, they could make themselves useful and put out some of the chairs around the refreshments area. The four people hurried over to him, wide smiles adorned their faces.

“We’re here to set up,” one said. They looked like first years, fully of excitement for their first major event. Connor admired their commitment, when he first started university he wasn’t sure if he left his room for longer than an hour at a time. People were clearly getting more confident with every class that went by. It was nice to see.

“Wonderful,” Connor said, finding a clipboard. He looked at the tasks he hadn’t ticked off, and assigned them to the people in front of him. None of them complained, they all took it in their stride, rushing over to put up banners and posters. Connor took his chance, slumping down onto the chair behind the table.

It was a nice day, the sky was clear, there was hardly any wind and the birds were singing pleasantly in the trees surrounding the grassy area. Connor almost felt guilty that he was going to disrupt it.

 _Almost_.

However, it needed to be done. It was only on rare occasions that they were allowed do to this on the university grounds with consent from the head of the college. Usually, Connor would have to be sneaky, or find somewhere out of the way – not idea to get attention. On campus it meant there were students around them, especially on the times he’d chosen. It was the prime time, some people said. People would be attracted to it, university students were notoriously curious about these things. Many felt like it was their last chance to make a stand and make a difference before they settled into the monotonous routine that was called responsibilities.

“Slacking, Walsh?” Wes asked, trying his best not to laugh. Connor opened his eyes, using his hand to shield them against the hard light. He didn’t know what he closed them, but he ended up looking at two dark figures in front of him: Wes and Zoe. He groaned and sat up properly, searching for his clipboard as he did.

“What do you want us to do?” Zoe asked, sweetly. Connor could tell she was eager to start, and didn’t appreciate Wes’ comments, but he was used to it now. His friends came with two default settings: sarcasm and mocking. Somehow, they had all managed to form strong friendships on those bases.

Connor rubbed his eyes and chose two tasks at random. “Gibbons, help Laurel- don’t whine. And can you go and help those guys over there?” he asked Zoe, pointing towards the first years. Both of them nodded, not best pleased that they had been split up.

Sitting down obviously wasn’t doing him any favours, and he’d read somewhere that it made a person look hostile and unapproachable – psychology was weird. He forced himself up, running his fingers through his hair to flatten bit down. He could see someone else walking towards the grass, slowing down as he got closer. Connor could tell he was reading on of the signs, maybe considering joining them?

To Connor’s joy, the guy started to walk towards him. He had a laptop under his arm, a book under the other. Connor didn’t recognise him from around the university, so he must’ve come from elsewhere. He smiled; it was nice to see that the word was spreading around town.

From a young age, his mother had told him how unbelievably rude it was to stare at someone, especially a stranger, but rules were there to be broken. As the older man got nearer, Connor was able to take in his physical features. He was cute – _very_ cute. His black framed glasses were half way down the bridge of his nose, which circled his dark eyes perfectly. He had short black-ish brown hair, only making his eyes look deeper in colour.

Connor needed to stop looking at this guy, he was sure it would start to get weird if he kept it up.

“Hi,” Connor said, smoothly. “Are you here for the protest?”

The nameless man looked at him, taken aback at the question. He looked a little confused, as if he didn’t know what Connor was talking about. He waited for another second before looking down at his wristwatch. “It’s nearly midday; it should be starting around now. You can stay, if you’re not busy.” He nodded towards the laptop beneath the man’s arm. “It’s for animal rights,” Connor said, smiling kindly, wordlessly trying to convince the man to stay. He needed more manpower at the protest. Well, that’s what he told himself, even though he knew getting the man to stay for it would be an ideal change to chat him up.

“I’m not busy?” the man replied, but it sounded more like a question. He smiled sheepishly, a faint blush creeping onto the top of his cheeks. He was _too_ endearing. Connor couldn’t help but grin at him.

“Great!” Connor said, enthusiastically. “Do you go to the university?” he asked, it was a perfect time to get to know the man in a way that didn’t make him seem like he was part of an interrogation.

“No,” he replied, placing his laptop on one of the plastic chairs. “Is that a problem? If it is, I can go-”

Connor shook his head. “Not a problem at all, everyone’s welcome.” He gestured to a space next to him. “It’ll get busy soon; your things will be safer around here. There’ll always be a person to look after them.” It didn’t take much more encouraging, the man nodded, picking up his belongings and walked to stand beside him behind the table. “Wait, I didn’t catch your name,” Connor said, turning to face the person beside him.

Before the man could answer, someone called Connor over. He didn’t believe in any higher power, but he cursed every single one as he gave the stranger an apologetic smile as he ran over towards the person who needed him. He guessed the man would have to remain nameless for a while longer.

“What?” Connor asked, trying not to sound annoyed as he faced one of the first years. Being snapped with the volunteers wasn’t any way to get a repeat performance, and he knew he had to keep his temper under control to get more people to sign up to the Animal Rights Society. He took a calming breath, giving them a (pained) smile.

“It’s nearly twelve o’clock,” one of them said, grinning. It was obviously the girl’s first rally, no one was usually that eager after a couple. Or, well, most people. Connor always managed to find some kind of excitement deep down him in, even if it took a while. “What should we do?”

“Get everyone together in the centre of the grass,” Connor instructed. “I’ll get the signs. Remember: keep it within the law.”

Another one of the first years groaned. “So, no fire bombs?” Although Connor laughed, shaking his head, he wasn’t too sure if the person was joking.

“No fire bombs or bombs of any kind.” Connor gave them a quick smile and headed back towards the stand he was stationed at previously. To his confusion, the man who was there before had left but had been replaced with Asher. Connor muttered to himself, not particularly wanting to talk to him – as nice as Asher was, sometimes his immaturity and inability to filter what came out of his mouth irked Connor.

Asher was resting his elbows on the top of the table, gazing out at the number of people standing around. He looked pleased, Connor thought, which was good. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d seen Asher without Bonnie by his side. As much as he wanted to, he didn’t pry.

When Connor walked into Asher’s line of sigh, he looked up, smirking. “Who was the guy standing in my place?” Asher shouted across the space. Some people looked up, curious about the loud voice coming from the far end of the grass. Connor waved his hand, trying to get his friend to shut up, or at least lower his voice. The last thing he wanted was for the nameless man to hear about Connor’s slight fascination with him.

Connor ducked under the table, making sure he didn’t hit his head on the way, and stood beside Asher. He hushed him as discreetly as he could, quickly searching the area of the man. Luckily, and also unluckily, he couldn’t see him. Connor started to wonder where he went, since his laptop was still on one of the plastic chairs next to him.

“A person,” Connor said, trying to keep his voice as uninterested as possible. “Also, it’s not _your_ place – it’s just spot.”

“A person,” Asher parroted, not sounding convinced in the slightest. “Since when do you allow strangers to stand around the backs of these things – especially ones that have all the official shit?” He raised an eyebrow at Connor, but he wasn’t going to confess the weird crush he had developed in the space of a handful of minutes.

Connor didn’t respond to Asher’s question, instead he changed the topic. “Where is he? His stuff is still here, so he can’t have gone far.”

“He said he needed to do something. He didn’t say what, though.” Connor nodded, subtly looking around the space in front of them to see if he could catch a glimpse of the man’s black hair. He was secretly happy that his friend hasn’t asked for his name, knowing it would only result in more questions – questions Connor couldn’t answer.

He checked his watch, grinning when he read the time. There was only a minute until midday, and the number of people sat around the grass was immense – more than he’d ever seen before. He tried to count them, but lost track after the mid-teens. He saw Laurel amongst them, clipboard in hand. He knew what she was doing: trying to get people to sign up for the group. Although Laurel got turned away by most of the students, Connor did catch a couple signing the bit of paper which was handed to them. It was Laurel’s idea to go around them, asking if they’d like to join in, she knew that not many students – the newest ones in particular – would not come up to the stand. Connor had come to the conclusion that his friends were too good for him at times.

Connor turned around and collected the signs he and Wes has created one night when they were bored. They weren’t anything spectacular, just large sections of cardboard boxes cut out and placed onto sticks. Black writing adorned them, all with well-known slogans – ‘Captivity Is Cruelty’, ‘Only Animals Should Wear Their Fur’ and so on. To Wes’ credit, he had tried to draw some pictures of animals; however they didn’t go quite to plan, but they were cute in a way.

He collected as many as he could in his arms, along with the megaphone he’d managed to find months ago. Connor walked out into the middle of the crow, smiling as he went. He hadn’t talked in front of this many people before, but it didn’t daunt him like it would have in previous years. He had grown in confidence, as was no longer the stuttering eighteen year old on his first protest. No, now he was brimming with self-assurance, only hoping it would pass onto others and encourage them to go with the cause.

Laurel past him as he walked, quickly showing the number of people who were participating. There were over thirty-five people, all there and ready to get their voices heard. It filled Connor with pride knowing that there had been such a large turnout – larger than there’d ever been. That would show Zack, he thought to himself as he reached the middle of the throng of students and members of the community.

Placing the megaphone and signs on the floor, he clapped his hands, stopping the chattering people and bringing all the attention to him.

“Right,” he said, making sure his voice was loud enough for the people in the back to hear. “I’d just like to thank you all for coming today. I know midday on a weekend isn’t anyone’s perfect time to be up, and I’m sure most of you would still want to be in bed.” His comment was met with a couple of people laughing as well as some sounds of agreement. “But it’s an honour to see so many of you have made the effort to come today – as well as a few brining their own banners to put around the campus, they were happily received.”

Connor gazed around the people around him, making sure they were all still listening to him. Everyone seemed to be engrossed with what he was saying; over thirty-five pairs of eyes looked back at him, all with an interested gleam in them.

“As you know from the emails that have been going around, this is meant to be a peaceful demonstration. There’s going to be no fighting, no firearms or anything that can cause harm to another human – or animal. We are lucky that we’re allowed to do this today; many people have been denied access to these types of things so we can’t exploit it.” The group, in union, nodded. “Now, I’ll pass you over to Laurel. She’ll tell you all the do’s and don’ts of today. If you keep with them, you can stay, if you don’t, well, we’ll have to ask you to leave.” Connor gave the people a final smile before allowing Laurel to take over. She went through the basic rules – much like Connor had said, but in more detail. She reminded them what they were there for, and slipped in information about the society and where to sign up if they hadn’t already.

Connor looked over the heads of the people, feeling pleased when he saw groups of people standing around the perimeter of the grass, trying to work out what was going on. Although none of them went any nearer, they didn’t move away. More people joined them – their friends, perhaps? – and they all stood together, whispering among themselves.

“This isn’t going to be some PETA bullshit, alright? There’s going to be no sobbing in front of butchers, standing in front of the vans that take the animals to the slaughterhouses and no tying ourselves to cows. All of that is counterproductive,” Laurel said, a small amount of anger coming through her voice. “We’re going to get our voices heard in sensible means; we’re all mature enough to do that, right?” Connor couldn’t help but chuckle when he saw the direction Laurel was pointedly looking at. Asher shook his head, but anyone could see he was trying to suppress a laugh.

“Keep it safe, keep it reasonable and keep it fun.” People whooped and cheered, some even punched the air – Connor thought that was rather excessive, but he liked to see the enthusiasm.

The crowed of people dispersed, many grabbing the homemade picket signs and went off to make smaller groups. Connor could already hear them chanting, but it was a bit disjointed. He grabbed the megaphone and marched to the front of the protestors. He shouted down the bullhorn, colleting the peoples’ voices into one loud mantra. Once he was sure they would keep in time with one another, he turned off the megaphone and took a step back.

New people had started to appear around the edge of the grass, some taking pictures with their phones. The publicity they were getting was more than Connor had ever anticipated. He took his chance and went to grab the biggest banner they had. He wasn’t sure when they had managed to acquire it, but it was one of the best thing they owed. On the front, it large red writing – similar to the colour of blood – it had the slogan ‘animals and friends, not food’ written across the white material with a couple of cartoony animals drawn along the edges. It was cute and eye catching, everything it needed to be.

The only problem was that it needed to be held by two people.

Connor glanced around the area, looking for someone who was free. To his annoyance, no one was. Asher had disappeared; Laurel was near the front of the demonstration, leading the group; Wes and Zoe were in the midst of the protest, too absorbed with their chanting for Connor to consider calling out to them.

As he was about to give up, he felt someone hold onto the other end of the banner. He looked to his left, grinning when he saw the nameless man on the other side.

“You came back,” Connor said, embarrassed by how happy he sounded. A blush quickly rose to his cheeks when the man grinned at him.

“Of course I came back,” he replied. “I needed to tell work that I had to take the day off.” Connor nodded and started to walk forwards before the man called out, stopping him in his tracks. “I never got your name,” he said, barely loud enough for Connor to catch all the words.

“Connor,” he replied, gesturing to the other man to give his name.

“Good name,” the man commented. “I’m Oliver.”

“Nice to meet you, Oliver,” Connor said, feeling himself starting to grin like an idiot. He didn’t know how, but somehow the name fitted him. Could names fit people? He wasn’t sure until that very moment.

They started to walk forwards, banner stretched between them. The wind caught in the fabric, making it harder to make any quick progress. Oliver laughed, seeing that their attempts were somewhat futile, even if they ducked their heads and powered on.

In a way, it reflected their protest: carrying on against the odds.

They reached the back of the crowed after a couple of minutes battling against the breeze. Oliver stopped, trying to get his breath back before heading on into the rally.

“Are you okay?” Connor asked after a couple of minutes, giving Oliver a concerned look.

“I’m fine,” Oliver replied, giving him a reassuring smile. He hesitated for half a second, smile flattering a bit. He looked nervous, in a way. Connor didn’t understand where the sudden anxiety had come from. “I was wondering if you’re free tonight. We could go to the cinema and maybe get something to eat later? Its fine if you’re not, I know this is short notice, but- wait, never mind. It’s stupid. Just-“ Oliver started to rush out his words, causing him to trip over a couple. It was one of the cutest things Connor had heard in a while, and tried not to laugh, knowing it would only make the other man feel more self-conscious than he already was.

“That sounds wonderful,” Connor said, stopping Oliver from putting himself into an early grave.

Oliver visibly relaxed, letting out a long breath. “Great. I’ll pick you up at eight?”

“Perfect,” Connor replied. “I’ll tell you where my dorm is later, okay? Now we have to go and fight for some animals’ rights.” And with that, they ploughed forwards, their banner waving in the wind.

***

“That’s between the cutest and cheesiest thing I have ever heard!” Michaela exclaimed, leaning against the old couch.

Five years had passed since the fateful day, and they had been dating for close to four years. People said it would never work as their meeting place was too unconventional – even their friends had doubted it multiple times. But Connor enjoyed proving people wrong, and it was clear they were going to work out. Two people who were both equally as passionate about basic rights as each other? It was a match made in heaven.

“You wanted to know, so I told you,” Connor said, laughing at Michaela when she made a fake gagging motion.

“Let her be jealous,” Oliver said, entering the living room. He sat on the arm of the chair his boyfriend was sitting on, smiling fondly at him. It wasn’t long until their fingers were linked together, and Connor was placing feather light kisses on his knuckles.

“I’m going to throw up,” Michaela warned. “And I’m _not_ jealous, thank you very much.”

Connor only chuckled at her, pulling on Oliver’s hand so he slid off the arm of the chair and onto his lap. Even though the position was uncomfortable for the two of them, Connor still wrapped his arms around Oliver’s middle, holding him close.

Oliver heard their friend groan in disgust, only encouraging them. Connor smiled mischievously, kissing Oliver’s cheek, edge of his mouth and finally his lips. Wordlessly, they agreed to make a show of it – making Michaela feel unreasonably uneasy at their heavy petting.

Oliver’s eyes fluttered closed when Connor started to bite on the sensitive spot just under his ear. He had to suppress a moan, not wanting to embarrass himself – sex with an audience wasn’t one of his turn ons. Still, he couldn’t find the power within him to stop his boyfriend.

“Right, okay,” Michaela said, standing up abruptly. “I’m leaving. I can deal with small amount of affection, but when you’re seconds away from fucking- _ugh_.”

“Michaela, I know you like to watch,” Connor said, his mouth still close to Oliver’s skin, blowing hot breaths onto his oversensitive skin. He went back to kissing Oliver’s neck, not breaking eye contact with her as he did so.

“You’re a weird one, Walsh,” Michaela said, walking out of the room. “And stop looking at me when you’re doing _that_ to your boyfriend. It’s not right!” The door slammed shut, making the walls of their house shudder.

The second Michaela was gone, he stopped sucking on Oliver’s neck and laughed. “That always works, and I know she’s _so_ jealous.”

Oliver silently groaned to himself. Sometimes he hated how much of a tease his boyfriend could be. It wasn’t fair to get him so worked up only to stop when they were finally alone together. From time to time he thought this was all Connor’s plan – turn him on and then leave him to sort himself out.

But Oliver wasn’t going to let him get away that easily. Not again. He straddled Connor’s thighs, hooking his legs around his back, making it impossible for him to move. Oliver shuffling around on Connor’s lap was enough to make the younger man produce pleasurable groan.

Oliver edged forwards, pulling Connor close to him as he went. He ground down on, making Connor gasp and hold onto Oliver’s hipbones, keeping him down. Oliver could feel bruises developing on his skin and Connor dug his fingers into the soft flesh, but it didn’t stop Oliver – it only encouraged him.

He managed to open a couple of the buttons on Connor’s shirt, exposing his pale skin and prominent collarbones. Although the angle was awkward, Oliver managed to crane his neck to press light kisses along his clavicle. Connor started to squirm beneath him when he started to tenderly bite the skin.

“You’re cruel,” Connor said, breathlessly. “So – _ah_ – fucking cruel.”

“Me? Cruel?” Oliver asked, feigning innocence. He licked a steady line up from Connor’s collarbone to just under his ear, shivering when he felt his boyfriend’s dick twitch underneath him. “No, baby. I’m nowhere _near_ cruel,” he said softly, dragging out his words, the way that made Connor whine. “You see,” he continued in the same tone. “I could say you’re the cruel one, getting me hard in front of your friend like that...” He focused his attention on Connor’s earlobe, sucking and pulling on it with his teeth. “ _That’s_ what I think is cruel.”

Connor managed to rest his chin on Oliver’s shoulder. His breaths were coming out shallow and fast, and Oliver could feel the man’s heartbeat pounding against his chest through their clothes. “I’m going to fuck you so hard,” he whispered, making Oliver’s breathing hitch. “You won’t be able to walk without a limp for a week. You’d like that, wouldn’t you?”

Oliver nodded, making Connor smirk. He loved how he could always regain power, even if Oliver thought he was in control. Connor knew all this turn ons, and dirty talking was one of them – it made his boyfriend turn into putty in his hands within seconds.

“I know you’re tight – _so_ tight,” Connor mutter, his voice filled with lust. He removed his grip from Oliver’s hips and ran his index finger down his boyfriend’s back, making him shiver at the touch. “And when you arch your back – _fuck_ – it’s the hottest thing I’ve ever seen and it’s all mine.” He trailed his finger down lower, stopping it just above where his spine dipped.

Oliver was practically panting now, unable to form a coherent sentence. All he could hear was his boyfriend’s voice, rough and thick with desire.

“Come to bed with me,” Connor said in a low voice, moving backwards to face his boyfriend. He caressed his cheek, making Oliver smile contently at the caring gesture.

“ _Fuck_ , I thought you’d never ask.”

**Author's Note:**

> DISCLAIMER: In **no** possible way is this me saying 'go vegan!!!' They were all 100% my **personal views** , and people can eat whatever they like. The characters in here were overdramatized versions of myself, as well as a couple of my friends (and some very stereotypical vegan-types). Yes, they were preachy, but _not_ everyone following the diet as the people in here at that way; in fact, few are :)


End file.
